Posted by Steven on 29/11/2011, 9:36:55, in reply to "Re: Omensetter's Luck by William H. Gass"
76.186.48.102
This is getting well off the topic of the novel, but there's a fascinating set of maps here: http://allthingspolitical.50megs.com/Religious_denominations.html that shows the distribution of various religions and denominations in the U.S. You can see that the Methodist church is particularly strong in southern Ohio.
--Previous Message--
: Yes, I agree, Steven. Furber is probably a Methodist.
: Although Methodism is commonly associated with
: "low church" practices and beliefs, it
: encompasses a very great range, including liturgical
: "high church" forms of worship. It also is
: a likely choice for the only church in a small town in
: Ohio in the 1890s.
:
: Lutherans and, of course, Episcopalians are also
: liturgical churches. Most American Lutherans seem to
: be of Scandinavian extraction, which does not seem to
: be the primary heritage of the residents of Gilean.
: Episcopalianism did not spread like Methodism partly
: because it remained an apostolic denomination. You
: have to be blessed by a bishop to join the church.
: The Wesleys and their followers realized that the
: church could spread much faster if ordained ministers
: could admit new converts.
:
: Furber is certainly not associated with Calvinist
: non-liturgical churches such as Presbyterian or
: Baptist. The more I think about it I definitely think
: that Furber is a Methodist with high church leanings.
: (And no faith.)
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: --Previous Message--
: I'm pretty sure that Furber is a Methodist. I recall
: something said about its being considered unusual that
: he had not married. The Methodist church is
: predominant in that region and would have had a church
: in every town. Methodism was one of the earliest
: evangelical movements to break away from the Anglican
: church, and its services and use of imagery bear more
: resemblance to the Anglican and Catholic models than
: do those of other Protestant denominations.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I have read some very long and difficult novels, and I
: have immensely enjoyed some of them (Joyce's
: "Ulysses" or Broch's "The Death of
: Virgil" come to my mind). With this book, I
: traversed a deep valley: I started enthusiastical
: about the structure and narrative point of view
: (Isrobestis Tott), remained interested in the
: "story" (Henry Pimber), and then struggled
: through the excruciating 80+ pages of Jethro Furber's
: first chapter. I confess I was close to giving up, but
: fortunately a long experience as a reader has taught
: me that, with works of literature well established in
: reputation after some time, it is usually worth it to
: persevere (not always, of course). So I did, and I am
: glad about it.
:
: I hadn't, of course, thought about
: "Amadeus", but the comparison is
: illuminating. Throughout the book, I was constantly
: reminded of Faulkner, especially the latest book I
: have read by him, "The Hamlet" first
: published in 1940. I am also convinced that Henry
: committed suicide; I see no reason for Omensetter to
: having killed him, but I'm not sure there was an
: affair between Pimber's wife and him. By the way, am I
: right to think that both wives (Pimber's and
: Omensetter's) are called Lucy?
:
: Now, of course the central character is Furber, and I
: don't think anyone could call him a likable character.
: Obviously the man has serious sexual frustrations and
: fixations. Is he a Catholic priest or a Protestant
: minister? All the imagery (and celibacy, of course)
: indicates to me that he's Catholic, although I've
: never thought of Ohio as a very Catholic place, except
: for Italian or Polish immigrants. And obviously, he's
: a bad man that has a "change of heart" at
: the end of the book, accompanied by a severe nervous
: collapse.
:
: --Previous Message--
: I think this book--it's hard to call it a novel--would
: appeal to those who like David Markson, John Barth,
: Harry Mathews, or Robert Coover. It's quite different
: from, but in a way supportive of, Omensetter's Luck
: It was first published in 1968.
:
:
: It sounds very interesting. I don't know who Harry
: Mathews is, but I used to love John Barth. I haven't
: read any of his work written since the 1980s. I have
: read only one work each by Coover ( The Public Burning
: ) and Markson ( WM ) but both were terrific. I
: definitely plan to read more Gass.
:
: I hope others will be joining the two of us in this
: discussion.
:
:
: Yes, I wish that we had a broader discussion of
: Omensetter's Luck , too. Guillermo said that he
: planned to read it, and I seem to recall that Lale
: might join you in reading The Tunnel . I hope they
: and some of the other less active members (joffre, for
: instance?) will read this difficult but glorious
: novel.
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: --Previous Message--
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